Syracuse NY Embraces its New Mosque; Wants More Refugees

Since my original article discussing how an abandoned Catholic church was being converted to a mosque in Syracuse, NY, that city has embraced the Mosque of Jesus, Son of Mary with open arms. In April, a local publication, the Syracuse New Times, published an interview with Dr. Yusuf Soule, the executive director of the Northside Learning Center, who bought the church and rented it to a still unidentified group of Muslims. In no news report has the group who transformed the church into a mosque been identified as anything other than a “new Islamic society.” When asked how the plan to buy the property came about, Soule answered:

More than 150 people contributed to finance this. A lot of business owners, refugees and business people, people from Utica (NY) helped. Some people literally gave us a dollar. Some people gave us $15,000. Some people gave us interest-free loans.

Asked why that particular location was picked, Soule said:

Location, location, location. The North Side is the magnet for refugees. The two agencies that work with refugees (InterFaith Works and Catholic Charities) are here. I wish people could see beyond CNN and see Muslims as individual people.

When questioned about who may be behind opposition to the mosque, Soule evaded the answer, but made it clear who was welcome to attend…

Read more from this story HERE.